Coastal Helicopters - Juneau

[Cosmic Rays]

Has anybody used this outfit and flown onto the glacier and had a dog sled trip? If so how was it and are you given a choice of departure times? Budget Queen says the 'dog' part of the trip is frequently cancelled - what happens then, refund or longer heli ride? I'm quoted $450 each (ouch) - will that include tax?

[Budget Queen]

Yes, I have flown with Coastal several times and do recommend them. There is no way to predict any flying schedules, with that, I have posted that glacier dog sledding out of Juneau is the most canceled tour. They MAY offer you a regular glacier landing tour, but just as likely may not. These are two separate tours. You need to be prepared for this and have decisions made, if you will accept other flightseeing. Many times you won't have a lot of time to think over this decision.

 

I haven't made glacier dog sledding, both times canceled. I have done the real thing three times since, on my Alaska winter trips, and definately would not consider this tour any longer, since I've been able to drive my own team, which you do not on any of these tours.

[travelteach326]

We used Temsco last year for a group of 25. I did a ton of research on CC and found that this excursion was cancelled alot our of Juneau due to weather. I booked in Skagway - better weather conditions. The day we were in port in Juneau it was overcast and foggy.

 

http://www.temscoair.com/tours/skagway.html

[Marie321]

We used Coastal and went on a dog sledding tour. The experience was wonderful.

[family-time]

Coastal helicopters , experience from hell !!! booked coastal helicopters for Dad's 75th birthday , were the first once to arrive and the last one to board the helicopter, were 6 people, the view for heber glacier was nice , when we landed at the dog sledging area, the pilot literally "pushed me out" of the helicopter, then we met a person " Jimmy " , asked two of us to share sledge with another couple, so my wife and dad( 75 year old ) went on the front sledge with the other couple, Jimmy even after repeated requests did not let my wife drive the sledge till the ride was almost over , my wife asked , if anything special had to be done , he said no , after a little while , we see both my dad and wife had been toppled into snow and my dad could not even get up , this guy Jimmy did not even bother checking with my dad and we had to help Dad back on feet and his back was hurting , there after instead of feeling sorry , he said that my wife was responsible for the fall and rudely talked with us , on the other hand we had a guy " Kevin " who let me 10 year old drive our sledge and we had no issues at all, after this incident Kevin was gracious enough to admit that Jimmy was not a nice guy and he apologized to us about Jimmy's behavior , said he felt helpless and could not do anything since Jimmy was his manager and said that i should complain since Jimmy did not handle the dog sledge well and Kevin( with our sledge ) following from behind saw it all, there after the manager and supervisor did nothing , all they wanted was for my dad to sign document denying " emergency services to hospital" , he said the manager will call , no one bothered calling , even the helicopter pilot commented sarcastically that " these things happen, you did not come for a park ride" really sad , after spending almost $3700 for dad's 75 birthday , to be treated like this is so humiliating, on top of it my Dad is getting medical care for the back pain after fall!!!

[Anet01]

We used Coastal last week and it was wonderful! Thankfully we were able to do both dogsledding and the glacier landing on our tour! It was the highlight of our Alaskan cruise! Well worth the money. Do have a back up plan as this tour is cancelled alot, but we went into it knowing that, and were thankful our tour went as scheduled.

[smgardner]

We were broken hearted as our trip to the dog sledding camp and the extra stop on the glacier was cancelled. We booked through Coastal. We watched the safety video, put all of the gear on, had our seats assigned and then they cancelled us. That entire episode ate up a good amount of time in port. It did not really matter as they then debited my account $1160 for a second time by mistake. So, we had little funds or time left to do anything. I spent three days on the ship trying to get it fixed, using a bunch of expensive cell time and not having much cash left to do anything else. They really screwed our trip up, not by cancelling but by having somebody carelessly working the accounts. Next time, I will not book independently. I learned an awful lesson.

[notentirelynormal]

We were broken hearted as our trip to the dog sledding camp and the extra stop on the glacier was cancelled. We booked through Coastal. We watched the safety video, put all of the gear on, had our seats assigned and then they cancelled us. That entire episode ate up a good amount of time in port. It did not really matter as they then debited my account $1160 for a second time by mistake. So, we had little funds or time left to do anything. I spent three days on the ship trying to get it fixed, using a bunch of expensive cell time and not having much cash left to do anything else. They really screwed our trip up, not by cancelling but by having somebody carelessly working the accounts. Next time, I will not book independently. I learned an awful lesson.

 

This would certainly be a downer. You post is a good reminder to have back up plans ready.

[FunInTheSun9]

We were fortunate to have our helo trip to Herbert glacier by Coastal for Dog Sledding and an extended stop go off without a hitch last month. It was raining when we left, and raining on the glacier, but Coastal provided rain jackets, pants, and spiked boots (so we would not slip on the ice at the second extended stop). It was a fantastic trip and we were very comfortable throughout the two hour excursion airport-airport. I wrote a cruise review and included more detail about it in the link below (and some photos). Net: If they cancel, you don't really want to go - safety first. ...But if you get to go, enjoy it! This is a big bucket list activity that you will never forget.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=535553

[smgardner]

This would certainly be a downer. You post is a good reminder to have back up plans ready.

 

If I book through the cruiseline, the problem is easily corrected. By booking directly through Coastal, it took days to fix their screwup. That decision by me, as well as their carelessness, screwed up our once in a lifetime trip.

[notentirelynormal]

If I book through the cruiseline, the problem is easily corrected. By booking directly through Coastal, it took days to fix their screwup. That decision by me, as well as their carelessness, screwed up our once in a lifetime trip.

 

Are you saying those that were with the cruiseline made the flight and those that weren't did not? Or, are you saying it tied up your funds?

Edited June 8, 2016 by notentirelynormal

[smgardner]

Are you saying those that were with the cruiseline made the flight and those that weren't did not? Or, are you saying it tied up your funds?

 

I am saying it tied up my funds and took longer to resolve. Had I booked through the ship, I could go to front desk and resolve. That could not be done in this case as I booked independently. When I was weighing whether to book through ship or independently, I had not considered this as a possibility.

[Budget Queen]

If I book through the cruiseline, the problem is easily corrected. By booking directly through Coastal, it took days to fix their screwup. That decision by me, as well as their carelessness, screwed up our once in a lifetime trip.

 

You couldn't just use another credit card? I always travel with several, since some of my international travels have had unexpected "blocks"

[smgardner]

You couldn't just use another credit card? I always travel with several, since some of my international travels have had unexpected "blocks"

 

No, I couldnt.

[ABQrobin]

wow.... we booked the helicopter with 2 hour glacier hike, not sure which company that Carnival uses but we booked through them just in case it gets canceled. Just 1 week away!

 

weather report we saw yesterday says cloudy and good chance of rain.... guess I need to make sure we have an alternate plan in case they cancel.

 

do they just cancel if it is windy, or does rain also cause them to cancel?

[Budget Queen]

wow.... we booked the helicopter with 2 hour glacier hike, not sure which company that Carnival uses but we booked through them just in case it gets canceled. Just 1 week away!

 

weather report we saw yesterday says cloudy and good chance of rain.... guess I need to make sure we have an alternate plan in case they cancel.

 

do they just cancel if it is windy, or does rain also cause them to cancel?

 

You will be flying with Northstar. You may want to look at booking direct the level 3 option. In my opinion the longest tour is really need for a trek (hike). 2 hours isn't enough time. When I go out of Matanuska, I out for over 4 hours and that is "short". :)

 

These tours run in rain. They only cancel based on flying conditions, determined by the pilot, and certain standards.

[ABQrobin]

You will be flying with Northstar. You may want to look at booking direct the level 3 option. In my opinion the longest tour is really need for a trek (hike). 2 hours isn't enough time. When I go out of Matanuska, I out for over 4 hours and that is "short". :)

 

These tours run in rain. They only cancel based on flying conditions, determined by the pilot, and certain standards.

 

we had thought of doing the longer tour, but my DH wants some time left afterwards to see a little bit of other things.

 

yeah, I knew they would go in rain, but here when it rains, there is also usually some wind, and I know that wind is one of the reasons they cancel.